It’s taken longer for producers Will Smith and Jay-z to come up with their new version of the musical Annie than originally planned, which means that now it’s ready to go forward, Willow Smith – who the film was originally designed as a starring vehicle for – is too old to play the title role.
However that doesn’t mean they don’t want to make the movie anymore, as while it’s lost its star, it’s gained a director. Deadline reports that Will Gluck (Easy A, Friends With Benefits) is in talks to direct what’s being called ‘a broad-based re-imagining’ of the classic Broadway musical Annie, which brings the story into the modern day. Gluck will also revise the film’s screenplay, which was written by Emma Thompson and rewritten by Aline Brosh McKenna.
Next up is to find an actress to play Annie now that 12-year-old Willow Smith is too ancient for the role.
The Annie musical is about an orphan who gets the chance to live with the fabulously rick Daddy Warbucks, but whose chance at happiness is threatened by a scheme to get to multi-billionaire to pay a massive reward. Presumably most of the plot will remain the same, even if the story is moved from the 1930s to the present day.